The problems still affected more than 8.8 million people – or about a third of the state’s population of 29 million – spread across 199 counties as of 7 pm (8 pm ET) on Sunday. Rasp said that 258 notifications of boiling water were terminated.
At a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said some 30,000 people remain without power in their state.
“Based on the speed with which I saw the power restored, I suspect that all power will be fully restored across the state of Texas for all homes tonight or tomorrow,” said Abbott.
The governor said water services are being restored across Texas and that more than 3 million bottles of water have been distributed in an effort by the Texas National Guard, the United States Department of Defense and the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA).
The warmer climate and the return of electricity provided some relief for Texans, but many remain without drinking water or in homes that have been damaged by broken pipes and floods.
That includes Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, a Republican, who told CBS’s “Face the Nation” program on Sunday that her own home was flooded. She said her insurance will cover the damage, but that may not be the case for other Texans.
“At some point, we will have to have plumbers and additional resources, but there will have to be money to help those people who are unable to pay for it … and it will have to come from the federal government,” said Price.
During his press conference on Sunday, Abbott said uninsured residents with burst pipes could qualify for a FEMA refund.
“We have had FEMA assistance from the federal government and part of it is individual assistance that will help people whose houses or apartments have been damaged because of the winter storm,” he said.
Burst pipes and surprised light bills
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, a Democrat, noted how widespread water issues are for many.
“Let me just say now with so many houses across the city with pipes that burst because of the cold weather and major leaks, major water damage, we need a lot of plumbing materials and supplies like now,” he said.
“We have several licensed plumbers, but we could use even more,” said Turner. “But the main thing is that even when the plumbers are leaving, it is very difficult to find the necessary materials and supplies.”
Disconnection moratorium
Abbott announced at his news conference on Sunday that the state Public Utility Commission issued a moratorium on disconnections from customers for non-payment to deal with the “skyrocketing energy bills” allegedly faced by some Texans.
He said the commission would also restrict electricity providers from sending invoices to customers at this time.
“Texans who have suffered from freezing cold days without energy should not be subjected to skyrocketing energy bills due to a spike in the energy market,” said Abbott.
The governor said he held an emergency meeting with legislative leaders “to protect Texas families from irrational bills” due to winter storms.
“This is something that is being accelerated, that lawmakers are working on as we speak. … We will have meetings this week to get to the bottom of this, but also to provide relief and support for our Texan colleagues,” said Abbott.
Asked about legislation to fix the state’s energy infrastructure, Abbott said: “We will not end this session until the state of Texas is – and all of its power generation resources – fully prepared for the winter.”
In a subsequent statement, the commission said it had issued a series of orders “designed to protect Texas electricity customers, while leaders in the state are considering solutions to the financial tremors of the winter storm grid event.”
In addition to the moratorium, the commission ordered the continuation of a Covid-19 measure under which electricity providers are required to offer customers deferred payment plans when requested.
It also “strongly urged” retail electricity providers to delay billing for residential consumers and small electricity commercials.
“The order and guidelines should be temporary, probably until the end of this week, to address the potential financial impacts that are especially challenging during this extremely difficult period,” said President DeAnn Walker.
The winter weather has also caused long delays in Covid-19 vaccinations across the country, but the accumulation is only temporary, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on Sunday.
“The number was six million postponed doses, we withdrew two million and projected that by mid-week, we will have reached it,” Fauci told Chuck Todd of NBC.
CNJ’s Anjali Huynh, Chuck Johnston and Naomi Thomas contributed to this report.